


A Doctor and his TARDIS

by rhodrymavelyne



Category: Doctor Who
Genre: Other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-24
Updated: 2017-03-24
Packaged: 2018-10-10 02:56:20
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 429
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10427589
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rhodrymavelyne/pseuds/rhodrymavelyne
Summary: The Doctor recalls his first meeting with the TARDIS, encouraged by Clara. Susan gives their new home a name.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Can you spot the Master's cameo appearance? This ties in with another another 'Doctor Who' story I posted recently. :)

“If you take that one, you’ll have much more fun.” The girl said this with a smile. As if she’d known. As if she’d seen him stroking the console. As if she’d heard him whisper it was the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen.

Enough of this nonsense. Such giddiness was more suited to a schoolboy or schoolgirl. Not for a tired old man trying to share a little of the magic of the universe with his granddaughter before he had to leave her. 

The way the girl smiled at him reminded him of his own giddiness when he touched the console. It kindled something young and impulsive he’d thought dead. No, not dead. Something he’d set aside when he decided to grow old and look after Susan. When he’d made up his mind to refuse regeneration. The sensation was still there, though. It lingered whenever he touched his new vessel. It reminded him of the sharp pain he’d felt when he turned to see the strange girl, nudging him and nodding him in the direction of this particular craft. 

Perhaps he simply missed the girl he used to be. He’d been a man for so long. 

A spark of eagerness, almost of youth kindled within his aged frame, as strong as the flow of regeneative heat. He felt it when he heard the machine’s engine.

“Grandfather, don’t think of our new home as a machine!” Susan, always so impulsive and emotional, was quick to respond to his thoughts. “Give her a name!”

He stared at his granddaughter, feeling as guilty as if he’d been caught watching dirty holos from a backwater planet. Susan was too kind to notice this. She looked down and away.

“TARDIS,” she said. “How about TARDIS?”

“What was that?” he asked sharply. He’d never liked feeling ignorant or not possessing all of the facts. He could almost picture the smirk spreading across a face exactly like his own, reveling in his moment of weakness. “What nonsense are you talking?”

“Time and Relative Dimensions in Space,” Susan said, not paying any attention to his insults. She was staring off into the distance at something only she could see. “TARDIS.” She turned to smile at her grandfather with sudden sweetness. “It’s a nice name for her, don’t you think?”

“Poo! Stuff and nonsense!” he scoffed, ignoring the frisson of excitement shivered through him at the word. TARDIS. His TARDIS, which he’d stolen. His new home, his and Susan’s. All because he’d yielded to passion and a girl’s mischievous grin. 

He never regretted it. Not even once.

**Author's Note:**

> At this point in the story, the First Doctor doesn't want to regenerate. He's decided to grow old and die. I'm operating on the premise that Time Lords have the options of doing so, if they choose. I'm also using the premise that Missy was telling the truth about the Doctor once being a little girl. Once agin, this ties in with my other story. :) Clara's opening sentence comes from 'The Name of the Doctor'. Having Susan name the TARDIS is my homage to Susan Foreman and Carol Ann Ford. Susan was the first character to say her name, after all. :)


End file.
